Bury 3's 12 - 0 Didsbury 3rdXV

A full set of home fixtures saw Didsbury relegated to playing on an U14 school pitch, several key players were missing due to planned attendance at RWC games and the usual churn of available players added further friction to pre-match preparations. So it was that Didsbury travelled without replacements and a line up almost unrecognisable from the one that had beaten Rochdale so convincingly the week before.

Bury started the game by utilising a considerable size advantage to keep the ball in the forwards and play the game up the middle of the pitch. A period of sustained pressure saw them work the ball into the Didsbury 22 and despite heroic last ditch defence Bury capitalised on their strong start to crash the ball over the line. 7-0 down early in the first half served as a bit of a kick start to take the attack to the opposition. Despite solid recycling of the ball and confident link play between scrum half Aled Brassington and stand-off Richard Massingham, the limitations of the pitch made it impossible for Didsbury to fully bring the fitness and speed of the back line into play. Outside centre Paul Petrie was consistently able to break the line only to be denied by secondary defenders covering short distances to make the follow up tackle. It was to be a consistent issue throughout the game that Toc were not able to find enough space to swing any advantage away from the home team.

The second half was one of attrition with both sides left with little option but to run the ball into the opposing defence. Kicks over the top were easily dealt with proving to be a futile tactic in any case. Again, limited space added pressure to Didsbury’s attacking play. As fatigue set in an increasing number of handling errors made it impossible to establish any consistent phases of play. As the game entered the final stage Bury pushed Toc back into the 22 only to concede a scrum via a dropped ball. The easy decision was taken to run the ball in the hope that a breakthrough could be made and a draw salvaged from the game in the dying minutes. Sadly the ball went loose in the centre and was swept up by a delighted Bury to be touched down over the line - it really wasn’t meant to be Toc’s day!

Disappointment was tangible after the final whistle from a feeling that the amount of effort from every player had been unfairly rewarded by not being able to walk away with at least a draw. Toc couldn’t help but feel that on another day (and definitely on another pitch) the outcome might have been different. Despite the result, there were plenty of positives to take forward to the rest of the season. Francois Cancel delivered an exemplary performance in the second row making a nuisance of himself in lineout and by being the first to tidy up loose ball. Tom Pinney had a busy day showing strong defensive skills and (not for the first time this season) the junior members of the team showed courage and passion in the face of more experienced and physically larger opposition. All that remains to be said is that the result serves as a timely reminder to Didsbury that they won’t always get their own way this season. Bury were able to dictate all of the conditions under which the match was played and is an important lesson to learn from if the 3rd Team want to go through the season as championship contenders.